


I Can't Stop Loving You (But I Should)

by LastManStanding87



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Dream Smp, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mentioned Dream SMP Ensemble, Mentioned Karl Jacobs, Mentioned TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Or not, Prison, Romantic only if you want it to be, Sad, i don't know how to tag lol, platonic, platonic i love yous, whatever you want really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-26 23:33:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30113724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LastManStanding87/pseuds/LastManStanding87
Summary: George decides it's finally time to visit Dream in prison.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound
Kudos: 9





	I Can't Stop Loving You (But I Should)

**Author's Note:**

> it took me 20 minutes to come up with a title and its not even good. and i have to work in the morning. this probably sucks lol i promise things will get better.

“I’m sure.” He wasn’t. He knew that it was for the best, that the server was better with Dream put away, unable to hurt and manipulate anyone else. But it still hurt. It hurt when George passed by the community house, memories of the three best friends building it by hand in the middle of the lake. It’s intention was to be a place where anyone on the server could seek refuge, a place to bring people together. But now it was nothing but rubble beneath the water, no longer able to fulfill its purpose. 

It hurt when George and Sapnap would return from a day of exploring to find the third bed the same as it was when they left, the covers smooth at the end but bunched up by the pillows, its owner having been a still and peaceful sleeper. What was once a house full of energy and familial bonds was now somber and quiet as the two remaining boys completed their daily routines everyday in silence before joining the rest of the server under masks of contentment.

But George felt the need to hide all that hurt as he followed Sam’s directions to the prison locker rooms. He had finally given in to the constant internal back and forth of whether or not he thought it a good idea to visit Dream. He felt an overwhelming sense of guilt, guilt for letting Dream hurt everyone the way he did, for turning a blind eye when the manipulation almost led a child to suicide. Guilt that he had turned down Punz’s request for backup, the fight he had with Sapnap did the opposite. But the thing George felt the most guilt about was abandoning his best friend when he obviously needed him the most. 

If George had just talked more with Dream, made him see that what he was doing was wrong, then maybe none of this would have happened. He could be coming home to Sapnap playing with the dogs in front of the fire while Dream cooked them dinner instead of George going to visit a high security prison in the dead of night. He knew deep down that it wasn’t his fault, but knowing that he could have prevented at least the worst of it drove the metaphorical knife deeper and deeper into his gut. 

“As soon as the lava disappears, make sure to stay on the path as it moves towards the main cell” Sam’s instructions rang in George’s ears as his stomach dropped at the idea that he was seconds away from seeing Dream. He stared at the bright orange of the lava, choosing to focus on the heat burning the brunettes cheeks instead of questioning if it was too late to turn back. He had to do this.  
After what seemed like hours, George could see the lava near the ceiling of the small room they were in start to trickle down. Slowly but surely, he began to see a small sliver of obsidian across the lava filled chasm. The purple stuck out in the vibrant reds as it finally emerged out of the lava. Low and behold, sitting in the small cell across the way, sat a blonde haired boy in a bright green hoodie, staring straight at George. 

_____________

“So… You’re here” Dream looked bad. His skin looked like it had been pulled back against his face, green eyes crazed and tired at the same time. Dream’s once fluffy blonde hair now sat limply across his forehead, obviously not having been washed in days. George could see every vein under his skin, vibrant blues and purples standing out against the almost translucent complexion that now belonged to his friend. 

“I’m here.” George replied. They stood in heavy silence, neither one wanting to make eye contact. 

It wasn’t long before George became overwhelmed. Tears pricked at his eyes as the lump in his throat grew until he could no longer hold it in. Dream didn’t need permission before wrapping his arms around the sobbing man. George felt comfort for the first time in weeks as he let go of all his pent up emotions, soaking the blonde’s hoodie. 

“I’m sorry it took me so long,” George says between tears. “Please don’t hate me.” 

Dream squeezes the shorter in his arms before bringing his hands to the other man’s face. “I could never hate you, do you hate me?” Dream can’t hide the waiver in his voice as he asks the question. George makes eye contact for the first time as Dream begins to gently wipe the tears from his face. He can see the taller is holding back his own tears. George takes the man into his own embrace, lacing his arms behind his neck and shoulders. 

“I love you Dream. Friends until the end, right?” George lets out a tearful chuckle. 

“Friends until the end, George.” 

_____________

“So how are things on the outside?” Dream asks. After the initial shock wore off, the two found themselves on the floor. Dream had given George the tour of the cell, George getting mad at Sam for not returning the clock, only to be assured by Dream that the notebooks were a far more entertaining way to spend his time anyway. Dream let George read some of what he wrote, mostly stories of the man’s own imagination, but some more concerning entries that were quickly closed before George could read too much. 

The notebooks forgotten, the two decided it was time to really catch up on everything that had been going on. George began answering Dream’s question by updating him on the Eggpire, Foolish’s massive builds in the desert, and Karl’s strange disappearances. He tried to fill in as many blanks as possible, but in truth, George hadn’t paid much attention to anything recently. 

Things went quiet again as George played with a small puddle in the crying obsidian that made up a part of the floor. He was trying to work up the nerve to ask the question he had been dying to know the answer to since all this started. He knew that whatever came out of the blonde’s mouth in response was only going to hurt him, but the need for closure was growing more intense as time ticked on. 

“George, you have ten minutes left in your visit” Sam’s voice bounced off the walls of the cell, breaking the silence. It was now or never.

“Dream, I need to ask you something before I leave.” George said, directing his attention away from the puddle and to the boy sitting in front of him. “Why?”

That was all George wanted to know. Why hurt so many people? Why torment a child? Was it all really just for power?  
Dream looked away, shame and something else crossing his bony features. He stood up and walked to the other side of the room, staring into the cauldron. George could see in his friend’s eyes that he had hit a nerve. He realized what the something else was that he had seen in his face: anger. 

“Dream I’m sorry, I just-”

“You just what? You just wanted to know how I became such a cruel and evil monster all of the sudden? I know what they say about me, I know that everyone thinks I’m nothing more than the devil of the server. They don’t know shit! Tommy is not innocent, he deserved to be punished. So did everyone else. But not you, George. I thought you were different. I thought you were on my side.” Dream was almost shouting as George stood up, now equally enraged.” 

“I was on your side Dream, I am on your side! But you fucked up, I just want to know what happened to the you I used to know.” George took a step towards Dream and Dream took a step back. 

“If you’re really on my side, get me out of here! I can’t do this anymore Georgie, if you really love me, I’m begging you, stop asking questions and get me out of here. Please.” Dreams voiced cracked as he pleaded with George. 

The brunette’s posture softened. “Dream, I can’t do that. You know I can’t. As much as I love you, you are safer in here. They want to kill you for what you did, I’m sorry Dream. I’m so sorry.” 

“George, your visiting time is up, please step to the other side of the barrier.” Sam’s voice echoed through the speaker. 

“Just go George.” Dream turned around, fiddling with the book on the lectern. He picked up the quill and began writing. 

“I love you Dream” George manages to croak out before the short barrier is lifted between them. He gets no response. 

“Remember to move with the path as it makes its way across the lava.” George does as he’s told. Soon he’s standing across the lava with Sam, watching Dream’s hunched figure scribble on the paper. 

George stood there watching until the lava had fallen back into place. He barely remembers exiting the prison after that. He doesn’t recall the walk home. As soon as he opens the door he is faced with the same untouched bed that had taunted him for weeks. This time, instead of walking to his own, he lies down on the foreign mattress, exhausted. 

As he lay there, memories of his time with Dream play on repeat as he tries and fails to fall asleep. He replays the man’s pleas for George's help over and over again in his mind until the idea begins to sound less crazy. Maybe if he managed to get Dream out of prison, they could just run away, start a new life away from the fighting and nations. As sleep began to overtake him, George knew that he had a decision to make, and it was one that made him fear both outcomes. 

_____________

“Good morning George! How’d you sleep?” Sapnap’s usual cheery voice rang through George’s still exhausted mind. They had accidentally bumped into each other on the Prime Path on his way to visit Puffy upon her request. Sapnap had spent the night with Karl while George had visited the prison. 

“Pretty good, how about you?” George tried to hide the tiredness in his voice to no avail.

“Are you sure? You Don’t sound too good, you know you can talk to me” Sapnap said with concern. 

Maybe George should tell him about his prison. Getting it off his chest would make him feel better, and hiding things from his best friend was only going to eat at him. But then he would have to talk about what Dream had said to him, and what he thought about it. He would have to admit Dream had almost successfully manipulated him into breaking him out of prison, that he still wasn’t entirely sure what he planned to do. 

“It’s nothing.”


End file.
